Sacrifices
by SiriusMarauderFan
Summary: Hermione reflects on her own relationship while helping her friend with his. Marauder era!Hermione. one shot.


**Author's Note:** Written for...

Ultimate Hermione Competition II. _Prompt:_ Hermione is born in a different era.

Stories of Color Challenge. _Prompts:_ coral, turquoise, charcoal

Investment Building Challenge. _Prompt:_ Andromeda Black

Restricted Section Challenge. _Prompt:_ Write a romance.

 **Sacrifices**

"I just don't understand why she won't talk to me. I did everything right, didn't I? I bought a ring, I took her to a cliff overlooking the ocean, it was beautiful - and you know how much I hate heights."

"Uh-huh."

"So I had this whole monologue planned out: 'Andromeda, you're the woman of my dreams, I've loved you since we were sixteen, yada, yada. Will you marry me?' And do you know what she said? 'I don't know.' And then she disapparated!"

"Uh-huh."

"I just don't know what to do. I must've sent her a dozen owls, but she won't reply. She didn't answer the door when I went to her flat. And now she's missing lunch. We _always_ eat together. Are you listening, 'Mione?"

"Uh-huh."

Hermione jumped back as a hand began waving in her face. She blinked rapidly, trying to refocus her eyes on Ted.

"What?" she hissed.

"You weren't listening to me." He was pouting adorably, and for a moment Hermione was reminded of why she'd had a crush on him, briefly, in fifth year.

She rolled her eyes at him and leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest. "Ted, I've had a front row seat to all of yours and Andromeda's arguments for the last four years, so forgive me for trying to skip this one."

"But this is different," he whined. "I _proposed!"_

"I know."

"And she said no. You caught that part, right?"

"She didn't say no."

"She left. What part of leaving says 'yes, I definitely want to spend the rest of my life with you'?"

Hermione let out an exasperated sigh. "You really are clueless, aren't you?"

Ted looked mildly offended, despite having received similar insults from his best friend for as long as they'd known each other. "How dare you."

"It's not as simple as whether or not Andromeda wants to marry you. There's her family to think about; how they'll react to finding out you're together."

He scowled, looking down at his forgotten lunch - a soggy tuna sandwich - and picking absently at the crust. "It shouldn't matter. We're in love. Who cares about anyone else?"

Hermione wanted to explain to him just how unrealistic that line of thinking was, but he was already heading for the door, and her lunch break was almost up.

:-:

Her office was the same as it had been when Ted dragged her out for lunch an hour ago. Her desk was uncharacteristically messy, covered in status reports from various departments that she had to compile and summarize for Minister Bagnold before the day was through.

Had she been at her usual level of attention, she would have had the assignment finished hours ago. As it was, she was constantly distracted by the littlest things: the ticking of a clock, a coworker passing by her door, the bright turquoise of her quill.

The quill had been a gift from Edgar. He said she needed more variety to her consistently charcoal wardrobe. And when she refused to brighten her clothes, tinting the instrument had been the only thing he could think to do. It was a small thing and it seemed silly at the time, but when the flowers died and the chocolates were eaten, the quill was the only gift that remained.

Hermione sat at her desk, twirling the quill and admiring the sheen of the feather. As much as she wanted and needed to focus on work, she couldn't help the way her mind wandered and worried about Edgar and where he had been all week. It wasn't like him not to contact her, even when he was on Order assignments.

"The things we do for the war are important," she remembered him saying. "But I'm not willing to sacrifice what we have for it."

The fact that their relationship remained a secret made things even more difficult and awkward when Ted burst into her office once more that day, now accompanied by Andromeda in an expensive coral dress and a diamond ring on her finger.

"She said yes!" Ted announced unnecessarily, and Hermione forced a smile for them.

"Congratulations."

"Ted's insisting we go out to celebrate," Andromeda told her. "Come with us."

Hermione looked down at her desk. Another paragraph or two and she could be finished with the assignment, if she really wanted to be.

"Come on, 'Mione. Maybe we can find you a date while we're out."

"Oh, I wish I could, but the Minister will have my head if I don't finish these reports tonight."

Ted didn't look convinced, but Andromeda was pulling him toward the door before he could argue.

"Don't work too late," she called as she shut the door.

Hermione was left alone with the quill once more, wishing her relationship troubles were as easily solved as her friends'."


End file.
